


Last Meeting

by Shinocchi



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bittersweet, Canon Timeline, Character Study, Established Relationship, M/M, Plot Devices, Post-Canon, Reminiscing, Slow Build, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 20:28:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14922300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinocchi/pseuds/Shinocchi
Summary: If you're given one and only one chance to experience a moment in your past or your future, what timeline would you choose to revisit or visit?The answer is obvious for Noiz. And his decision will change something in his present life. Something significant.





	Last Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Noiz's birthday! /o/
> 
> This story is best read after you've read "[Anew](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1759253/chapters/34543790)", as it sets up a springboard to the events happening in this story. It's probably one of my personal favorites so I'm glad I managed to pen down this idea into an actual story of its own.
> 
> Happy birthday, Noiz! And I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

It’s happening again. For a second, he thought the days when he couldn’t care less about sleep, let alone food, were coming back to haunt him. It’s scary to some extent, knowing that he’s living a history he’d abandoned. It’s the thrill of having his brain space being utilized at every waking moment, formulas and possibilities surging him from the inside, nerves overwhelmed by adrenaline rush and before he realized it, minutes became hours and hours became days then weeks and months. He wasted no time, having put himself in a zone from the moment he made up his mind. He knew this was what he _needed_ to do. It’s a route he’d willingly paved for himself and there’s no way he could let this flop; there’s no way he could be proven wrong. He didn’t want to be proven wrong.

It’s the 430th days since he worked and studied and tried to create everything from scratch. He had a lot of proving work to do. There were too many potentials, too many evolutions in his head that he could so clearly see yet couldn’t touch. He _needed_ to make this a thing. He _needed_ to touch them, to prove to not only everyone else, but himself that whatever that he’d visualized -- of the future -- was never a far-fetched idea.

“Noiz?”

Connections, something… just _something_ , something small, as small as atoms, or even  _smaller_ ; he just needed _something_ to connect these molecules together. But how would he do that? Do they even exist? Or does he have to create them from scratch?

“Noiz.”

If he has to create it then, what? How? many resources would that require? How much time would he need to be invested in this? Would it be worth it? What would the cost be? How huge of a consequence would it--

“Noiz!”

A loud voice invaded his line of thoughts, snapping him back to reality. He’d been sitting on the floor. Maps, charts, tools, numerous hologram screens, scattering around him. He tried to find something that could tell him the time when he found a hand patting him on the shoulder.

“You here with me? Hello?”

He looked up, finally focusing on the person who’d just stepped into his workshop.

“Yeah,” he stuttered. “Yeah…”

“Come back,” Aoba knocked him teasingly on the head. “Being passionate is one thing but wearing out your mortal body isn’t going to keep you going in the long run.”

“I’m… almost there,” Noiz whispered. “Almost, I just need one more formula, or substance…”

“ _Noiz_ ,” Aoba interrupted him sternly. It’s then that Noiz sensed a delicious scent before he noticed a tray of food on the table that came with a jug of what seemed to be mixed fruit juice. “ _Eat_ , then _sleep_.”

Noiz’s expression must’ve given out how unreceptive he was towards Aoba’s suggestion, which was proven by the long, deep sigh Aoba had pulled out in the next second.

“Please tell me you remember what’s up tomorrow.”

Tomorrow? His mind started racing, he tried to conjure an invisible schedule in his head, finding tomorrow’s date. Wait, what’s tomorrow’s date again?

“Press conference. To talk about new developments,” Aoba reminded him.

“Sure,” Noiz said simply, dismissing the effort to look for answers.

“You have everything prepared, do you?” Aoba eyed him suspiciously.

“I do.”

“Lies,” Aoba chuckled. “Well, anyway, I’ve done you the favor and prepared some materials for you. I know you’ve been busy with whatever you’re doing and it’s technically _impossible_ for you to have time to prepare anything at all.”

“I was thinking about speaking whatever that comes to me then,” Noiz returned a grin.

“Genius,” Aoba did a playful clap. “I’m sure you can manage that as well but better be safe than sorry, right?”

With that said, Aoba leaned close to Noiz, kissing him on the tip of his nose.

“I don’t care how much of a genius you are. For all I know, you’re still a man, a fully functional one at that. And a man needs to maintain his basic needs like sleeping and eating to remain functional.”

Noiz slung his arms around Aoba’s neck, pulling him over just so he could return his kiss but on the lips.

“I know I can always count on you to help me out with that. How about we keep this momentum going, and take care of _other_ basic needs a man requires to stay healthy too?”

It’s still funny seeing blush rushing to the tips of Aoba’s ears and how he looked away when Noiz sent him an unmistakably suggestive look.

“You need a shower,” Aoba said at long last, a last desperate attempt to not overreact like he would always instinctively resort to. “And eat before we talk.”

“Yes, sir.”

Aoba was right; he needed rest. His brain could only take so much volume especially when it came to complicated, tedious matters like trying to decompose particles that might never exist. Building an artificial intelligence that functioned as something that was on the same level of his brain’s wavelength might be a good solution to this mortal’s limitations.

But for now: rest, then basic man needs.

 

* * *

 

The news of how the eldest son of one of the most prominent families in Germany left the family business and went into entrepreneurship made ways to many headlines when it was announced. It’s no doubt that eyes were on Noiz. Rumors spread like wildfire, something Aoba often quoted as ‘afternoon tea jokes’. The relationship between Noiz and Aoba was no longer under the rock; Noiz had made sure to make it clear as day whenever they made an appearance together in any sort of event that he deemed worthy to attend. And whenever he had the chance, he’d never forget to credit successes to Aoba, which, in his own words, were all genuine and worthy.

The public and the media knew _some_ stuff about Noiz’s new career path: something about technology, revolution, and evolution, and something very, _very_ different from the way Noiz’s family operated. Despite the contrast, Theo never failed to play a supportive role whenever he could. He never shied away from publicly being proud of his brother and never missed a chance to collaborate and sponsor Noiz with all the resources he needed to carry out his projects. Noiz was hesitant at first, but Aoba was the one who’d punched him on his ego and told him to just accept the reality of how _broke_ they were and accept help for once.

But still, everything Noiz’s been doing was still in the clouds. No one, not Theo, the biggest sponsor of Noiz’s company, and not even Aoba knew exactly of what he had in his mind. Neither of them found the need to pester Noiz, seeing how he was already dangerously losing sleep and meals from the rebirthing effort. But above all, they trusted Noiz, which was the most important factor for them to keep pushing and supporting him despite being left in the dark.

At long last, the day came. Almost 500 days later of delving into a whole new territory, Noiz would come out to talk about what he had been occupied with and what _exactly_ did his career stand for.

Needless to say, the press conference venue was packed with media since _hours_ before the event even started; news was on standby to live broadcast the event and long necks anticipated the new CEO’s arrival even when it clearly wasn’t time yet.

It felt weird to receive attention to such a great extent after not having any for the rest of his life.

“Nervous?” Aoba asked, taking in a deep breath.

“Talking about yourself?” Noiz joked.

“Well, I _am_ nervous,” Aoba admitted. “Not because of the event, but because of finally knowing what you’ve been up to.”

Noiz kept silent at the remark. Then, he picked Aoba’s hand up and brought it to his lips to kiss the back of it.

“Sorry for not explaining things to you,” he said, thumb rubbing on the palm.

Aoba shook his head with a smile. “That’s fine. Thanks to that, I’m as excited as the others too. You do what you have to do, like you always do. You’ll be fine.”

“But before that, _you_ will need to calm down first, don’t you think?” Noiz drew a smirk. “You’re shivering.”

“Okay, look, I can’t help it. It’s still a big event and I’m never part of something as big as this. Ever,” he retorted with a pout.

“Don’t worry,” Noiz comforted, pulling Aoba over to kiss him on the forehead. “I might not look like it but I’ll do fine.”

“Yeah, sure,” Aoba chuckled lightly, leaning in to press his head against Noiz’s shoulder for one last time before Noiz departed for the stage, where he’ll be making his presentations. “Just speaking whatever that comes to you, right?”

“That’s the plan,” Noiz confirmed, leaving Aoba to stare horrifyingly at him before he left the resting room, heading right into the core of the tension.

For one, Noiz didn’t need to try too much to be that charming cover man for newspapers and magazines. For another, you don’t really find a lot of men who’s both good-looking and intelligent. So naturally, Noiz became the topic of the country after he broke conventions and ventured into a district that’s so unknown it’s almost terrifying. Critiques were raised and doubts were discussed but thanks to Aoba’s exceptional ability to turn every senseless argument into another over-the-dinner-joke, Noiz had never once got affected by words flying around about him. People can say whatever they wanted about him; they could believe in things that they wanted to, see things they wanted to see, and label him in ways to convince their own belief but regardless of what the circumstances were, Noiz had vowed to stand his grounds, and by that, he meant to continue doing what he believed in and never falter until he eventually found an answer he’s satisfied with.

Perhaps that made him just like everyone else -- believe in things that he wanted to, see things that he wanted to see, and label himself the way he wanted to; but here’s the difference: he’s intelligent, and he knew what he was doing. That’s a pretty good weapon, he thought.

Standing in front of hundreds of media, having camera flashes blinding his eyes every other second, and listening to questions he couldn’t even hear a word of was a surreal experience of its own. Sure, he’d told Aoba that he’d just speak whatever that comes to his mind but with _so many things_ to share, he kind of regretted not preparing a memo in advance. Just a bit.

The emcee was quick to come for his rescue and when everyone settled down, he looked around, pulled a smile at Aoba and Theo, who had found their way to the front of the seats, and took a deep breath.

“Good afternoon, I believe we’re here for one purpose and I say we skip all the introductions and head right to the core.”

“Deep breath, Aoba,” Theo patted Aoba on the shoulder upon seeing signs of anxiety on Aoba’s face. “I’m sure brother knows what he’s doing.”

“I’m honored and thankful for you to be interested with what I’m up to and I’m here to give you exactly that. It’s also part of an obligation, I think, to inform the public of what a new corporation, or a new CEO like me is doing, that is impacting the environment we share.”

With that final word, Noiz pulled up a hologram screen that showed a set of charts and statistics. Aoba breathed a sigh of relief.

“This is what I’ve been working on: the combination of neuron networks and the cosmic vessel.”

It’s not something Aoba had ever seen before in his entire life. What Noiz was showing on the screen was a star-shaped vessel, connected by probably millions, no, trillions of neuron nerves at the core. It’s blinking weakly as if it just took form -- a newborn -- and when Noiz did as much as rubbing onto its edges, the vessel shuddered faintly, as if reacting to touches.

“It’s still a prototype,” Noiz continued. “You might ask what is this creation’s purpose and if it has anything to do with the composition of it, which includes exotic never-before-existed matters. The answer is yes.”

“This,” Noiz zoomed into the core of the vessel, revealing something that looked like a mass of black foam, surrounded by what looked like rings of barriers. “is the key to the creation of intelligent machines that are almost human-like. These machines will be able to look through time and space and are able to warn and assist us of potential threats that could occur to us on both a personal or impersonal level.”

“Using the idea of human neuron network as its base, I’ve built a block of intelligent system with a core that will be implanted in each and every intelligence that is created. The core will enforce a filtering system that will weight decisions and options and ultimately choose the best actions based on the preset conditions of the users. In other words, it would be able to make a decision based on circumstances human minds can’t foresee.”

“It will function under the concept of superconducting computing chips modeled after neurons. If transistors in conventional electronic systems are able to process information at regular intervals in a precise amounts of either 1 or 0 bits, this neuromorphic chips can accumulate small amounts of information from multiple sources and alter it to produce a different type of signal that can transmit in a speed that I dare say, faster than light.”

“Which, with the combined used with the cosmic vessel, makes revisiting past and visiting future to weight consequences and causes possible for these intelligences. The cosmic vessel will fill in the gap of the neuromorphic system, where the superconductors in the system will vary the amount of magnetic field in the synapse, the gap, in easy term, and align the nanodusters to point in different directions which will then allow the system to encode information in both the level of electricity and in the direction of magnetism, creating a cosmic space that is undisturbed by time and space.”

“In other words,” Noiz paused for a bit, just to let the audiences take in the abundance of details he’d just spilled, after over a year of working on them. “We will soon be greeting an era where artificial intelligences are able to work miracles humans cannot control; we are to see them as not a slave, nor an assistant, but as nothing less than a partner.”

“Of course, everything is still under development and this,” Noiz spread his palm open, where a Usagimodoki cube hopped onto. “is still a prototype.”

In the next second, the cube disintegrated and reformed itself into the exact same star-shaped vessel Noiz had shown on the screen, now taking a physical form on Noiz’s hand.

It’s one of the most beautiful things Aoba had ever seen. Throughout the presentation, Aoba had gotten completely immersed with the enthusiasm Noiz portrayed when he spoke, and needless to say, he was once again impressed by the extent of what Noiz could do if he was given the chance, further reassuring him that his decision of supporting him was never wrong.

“Brother is truly amazing…” Theo breathed by his side. “I would never be able to figure out something like this for the rest of my life.”

Aoba smiled contentedly. “He is, isn’t he? He’s going to achieve great things.”

Questions poured the hall after Noiz ended his presentation but Noiz was quick to thank the crowd and make a hurry move off the stage. He must’ve reached his limit. Noiz wasn’t one to be out in the open in the first place; the presentation must have taken a lot of his energy away from him. In a hurry, Aoba got out of his seat and rushed to the resting room.

“Noiz.”

Noiz was sitting on the couch, pulling his tie loose and breathing heavily when Aoba walked into the room. But he pulled a smile upon seeing Aoba and spread his arms.

Aoba didn’t need to be told twice. He embraced Noiz, letting Noiz rest his head against the crook between his shoulder and neck, knowing that Noiz was trying hard to come back to himself.

“You did well,” Aoba patted him on the back of his head. Noiz’s fervent heartbeats turned his voice hoarse.

Noiz said nothing. Simply hugging Aoba, he continued to lean against him, finding comfort at where he truly belonged.

 

* * *

 

Aoba wasn’t over exaggerating when he thought the cosmic vessel was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen in his life and he made sure to tell Noiz that.

“Time traveling, huh? Like a time machine.”

“Not us, but them,” Noiz said, pointing at what seemed to be a half-developed Usagimodoki cube.

“Why not us?” Aoba found a rolling chair, grabbed it and sat beside Noiz, his head propped on the back of the chair.

“It’s too much pressure for our bodies,” Noiz explained. He’s wearing goggles with two thin wires in his hands as he tried to connect them. Sparks emitted from the central point where the wires touched.

“Here,” Noiz continued, leaving aside the wires and taking his goggles off to turn around and look Aoba in the eyes. He pointed a finger on his temple, referencing his brain. “Our brain isn’t built for that kind of pressure. Light is not something we should be taking lightly. Radio waves too. One wrong connection with our nerves and that’s it, our bodies will malfunction because our brain would be short-circuited and unlike most electrical appliances, there’s no fuse to stop the overpowering of the circuits that will happen in our nerves. The nerves are…” Noiz trailed off, eyes drifting to the hologram screen beside him, where what seemed to be tangled-up nerves were shown. “... they are out of our control.”

Aoba knew that Noiz was explaining to him with the easiest, layman terms he could find and he appreciated that greatly. It wasn’t like he didn’t have experiences with everything Noiz said to be honest and he thought perhaps he should remind Noiz about it.

“The radio waves… or, waves, you called it. And light,” he started as Noiz got back to his laptop, typing lines after lines of codes that were made up merely of ‘1’s and ‘0’s. “I experienced those before, remember? More like, my brot-- Sei, that’s how he communicated with me, by putting pieces of himself into radio waves so that he could talk to me in my brain, in my dreams, and in any electronic devices he could lay his hands on. Is it similar to that?”

“In a way, yes. But Sei was created with a very specific, extraordinary function in mind. And you too,” Noiz came to an abrupt stop, a deep frown forming in between his eyebrows, as if reminded of something.

“You too, were created with a specific function in mind, to do… extraordinary things.”

Aoba was still not done with his questions but Noiz had fixed his eyes on him again, as if asking him a question Aoba couldn’t hear.

“What?”

“...I forgot,” Noiz said briefly. He rolled his chair over, coming close to Aoba, and cupped his face. “You’re a living proof of my theory.”

“Hah, this might be the only time I’m grateful I’m not naturally made,” Aoba joked.

Noiz, however, scowled at him. He gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and gazed into his eyes again.

“It doesn’t matter. Natural or man-made, it doesn’t make you any different.”

Aoba was clearly taken aback. Living with Noiz for years had allowed him to see many sides of Noiz he’d never known, but what’s a more glaring change in Noiz was how much he’d developed throughout the years. Sometimes, he’d sound like a completely different person. But in other times, Aoba would also find himself interacting with the brat he met in Midorijima again. How Noiz managed to find a middle point in between these two contrasting personalities and how he still never changed from who he was always amazed Aoba to no end.

“Thanks, I guess,” he smiled, before he stood up. “Anyway, tell me if you need help. I’ll be preparing some food in case you’ll pull an all-nighter again.”

Noiz returned to his workstation, now drawing graphs on a blueprint paper.

“I’m pulling an all-nighter.”

By the way he was staring intensely at the numbers he plotted onto his drawings, Aoba knew that whatever retorts Aoba had left about that idea may never make it into his ears anymore. With a bitter smile and a shake of his head, he walked out of the workshop, wondering if steak could be a good option for dinner later.

 

* * *

 

For some reason, what Aoba mentioned about radio waves and how Sei traveled through them to communicate with Aoba greatly enticed Noiz. In his calculations, the possibility of humans traveling in lightspeed was out of the question. Like he explained to Aoba, it’s too much of a pressure for an average human’s physical condition to sustain it. That’s probably what that had taken a toll on Sei. He wouldn’t want to risk it, of course, and definitely had no intention to sell something so lethal to the world. But. Just a _but_ . If. Just an _if_ . He could mimic, replicate, and redevelop that technology -- that _possibility_ \-- for a one-time use, would it be worthy?

The idea of being able to travel via waves and light kept him awake for the entire night. He needed no coffee but he had to admit that Aoba’s steak for that night was a pure delight. He could still feel it on the tongue. Aoba had then retreated to the living room, only coming over occasionally to check if Noiz needed anything and more frequently, he’d be sending messages to explain why was there a loud bang in the room and why was he laughing so hard via their Coils. It’s communication at the best; they did it the best. It’s 2AM in the morning when Aoba came in with one knuckle rubbing on his eye, telling Noiz that he’s going to bed that had Noiz looking up from his tight-knitted notes of blueprints.

“Get some sleep when you can,” Aoba yawned. “My Coil is on so if you need anything, just buzz me, alright? Goodnight.”

He rushed towards Aoba before he could leave the room.

“I mentioned fuse,” he said to a bleary-eyed Aoba. “Remember?”

“Yeah… that thing that stops things from short-circuiting,” Aoba said in a bleary voice.

“If I can build a fuse, do you think it’s worth it to try the whole light traveling thing for myself?”

Aoba’s eyes brightened slowly. He looked at Noiz as if he’s staring at a ghost, his sleepiness vanished from his system.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Aoba bellowed under his breath. “Noiz, you said it yourself. It’s too much of a risk to try this. We… Okay, look, we’re _humans_ . We’re not machines. We can’t take the pressure. _You said it yourself!_ ”

“Yes, I did,” Noiz said, totally calm, totally unaffected by Aoba’s reaction. He’d expected it. “But it’s a possibility and I want to try it out.”

“I… You…” Aoba stopped, took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let the silence spread for three seconds before he spoke again. This time, he sounded calmer. “Look, this is a serious matter. Are you sure about this? How huge is the risk? And what’s this fuse you’re talking about? How confident are you with it?”

Noiz was ready for Aoba to ask him more questions but Aoba, being Aoba, asked all the ones that mattered and truthfully, Noiz appreciated that greatly.

“I’m sure of it. The risk is high, it’s probably the riskiest experiment I’ve ever attempted and I’m sure no one living being on this Earth has ever tried it before either. But the end result will be rewarding. As for the fuse…”

He placed his hands on Aoba’s shoulders, staring penetratingly into his eyes with a small curve on the corners of his lips.

“The fuse is perhaps the thing that gave me the biggest confidence for this to work out. _You_ ’re the fuse, Aoba.”

“What…? What are you talking about? Are you going to electrocute me or something…?” Aoba gaped.

“No, of course not. A fuse, by definition, is something that can prevent bad things from happening, am I right? I can’t think of anything or anyone else that can play a better role than you.”

“Noiz, I… This is too much of a responsibility for me. What if it doesn’t work?”

“It will,” Noiz deadpanned, even though there’s no mistaking the pressure in his voice. “I’m confident in you.”

Aoba gave Noiz a long look, one that repeatedly asked if he was serious about this plan and if there’s no way Aoba could stop him. Then, as if he’d gotten his answers from Noiz’s gaze, he sighed.

“I’ll try my best if that’s what you want,” he said with a shake of his head. “You’re an extraordinary man, you know that?”

“I hope it means something good,” Noiz chuckled.

“Oh, figure that out yourself,” Aoba pouted. “So, what am I supposed to do?”

“It’s too much of a risk to connect two sets of nerves with lightwave so I’ll be doing the traveling and in the meantime, I’ll be creating a device that can allow your voice to connect with the light point where I am so you can call me back when the time’s up.”

“And by time’s up, you mean…?”

“Even when I’m not physically going to transport myself into the light, just my nerves, it’s still damaging to the body. Doing this in its own is already putting myself in front of the door of a brain shock and amnesia. If not done well, I might never come back, stuck in loop and paradox of nerves; like stuck in the past, unable to move forward, seeing the same things happening over and over again…”

“Okay, stop, that’s getting very negative and scary. I only want to hear the good things,” Aoba refrained Noiz by pressing his palm on Noiz’s mouth.

“With your voice, it will trigger my nerves and short-circuit it. No, no, listen. Not to shut down the brain but to shut down the interferences that I will intentionally impose to my nerves.”

Aoba tilted his head, seemingly trying to understand what Noiz had just described to him. His expression drew a smile on Noiz’s face.

“Don’t worry,” Noiz comforted, voice softer than before. “I’ll make sure that everything is safe. I feel like this is something I need to do. If I have a chance, I’ll do it. Fix things from the past. Let it be better. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

There’s a hint of what seemed to be a flickering of golden light in Aoba’s orbs when Noiz shared eye contact with him again, as his words had done something to him and Noiz prayed with all his heart hoping that it was a good sign. He’d understand perfectly if Aoba called him off, though. It’s too dangerous after all. And like he’d said before, no one has ever done it before, so it could well be a flop or a success. The only thing he knew was: this was his only chance. There’s no way he’d be able to do it a second time without risking his physical state. It didn’t feel like an obligation that was pushing him to do this, surprisingly. It felt like a… something he needed to prove to himself, something that his guts told him that would change a whole lot of things and it’s something he _needed_ to do and something _only he_ could do. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Aoba but when Aoba nodded with a smile, the stone on his heart was lifted. Wrapping his hand around Noiz’s face, he tiptoed to kiss Noiz on the lips, softly and gently.

“I know. I trust you.”

If the hug they shared later was any confirmation, they’re embarking on a journey where they’ll be playing with fires -- and it could potentially kill them or save them.

 

* * *

 

To start the project he’d need to determine where and when he’d want to land himself in so that he could prepare enough resources to ensure a safe experiment. He offered Aoba to be part of the brainstorming process but Aoba said no, stating that he wanted to be surprised and that wanted Noiz to be the one to surprise him about his adventures when he returned. Noiz supposed that’s his way of ensuring that he would _really_ come back just so he could tell him what happened so he let the case drop without persisting further.

It wasn’t a hard decision to make. There were many points in his life that he’d want to experience again, either to avoid a past mistake or to improve a situation. But when he really thought about it (in which he once again spent ungodly hours in his workshop just sitting on the couch, staring at the ceiling), there’s only one time that he hoped he could revisit -- not to make things right, not to fix a mistake, but just so he could confirm something.

It took three whole months for him to get everything ready. Aoba’s paranoia seemed to have affected him as well because on the night before he was supposed to set his brain on fire and transport his conscious to a past-life and practically take over his past-life mind for a duration of two days, he still found himself thinking about the odds, making mental lists, until Aoba gave him a hard slap on the head, then dragged him into bed, that he finally let his mind rest.

“Don’t think too much, just follow what you’ve planned,” Aoba reminded him when they were both lying in bed, both struggling to sleep for the same reason.

“Speak for yourself,” Noiz retorted.

He was expecting Aoba to fight back but instead, he found Aoba’s hand on his as he intertwined their fingers.

“I’m confident,” Aoba said in the midst of darkness. “I know you’ll make it back, and I know you’ll achieve what you want to achieve with this.”

“How can you be so sure?” It’s a genuine curiosity.

“Instinct. Don’t you remember? My instinct is closer to me than you think it is,” Aoba chuckled. He leaned closer to Noiz, pressing his ear against Noiz’s chest to listen to his heartbeats. “You’ll be fine.”

Theoretically, everything should be fine if they followed Noiz’s plan religiously. Aoba will be there to keep an eye on the radars as well so he could get Noiz back if an emergency or out-of-hand situation was to occur. But Noiz had made sure to prepare as many backups and as many rescue plans as he could to avoid any accidents from happening. Aoba was a quick learner and Noiz was positive that he’d memorized everything faster than he had ever learned anything.

Theoretically, his calculations should be correct, the risk was decreased to the bare minimum and he had made sure that nothing will go wrong. He won’t be gone for long anyway; it’s just two days. He’d be back in no time.

Yet, the idea was a huge one and it’d be a lie if they’re both not anxious when Noiz found himself lying on the couch, wearing a helmet with multiple circuits connected to the cosmic vessel on the tip of the device.

“You’ll be fine,” Aoba grasped him on the hand. He had one hand on the switch, ready to activate the current, but his eyes had never left Noiz, who seemed as impassive as usual.

Without saying anything, Noiz nodded. He took a deep breath, rehearsing everything in his head, and when he opened his eyes again, he gave Aoba a smile.

“Go ahead.”

Aoba nodded with a smile. He inched over to kiss Noiz on the lips, grasped his hand tighter, and stretched a finger towards the switch.

“ _Catch you in two days, brat_ ,” was the last thing he heard from Aoba before his vision was painted in bright white, his five senses dulled and then, while he felt as if his body was about to be torn into pieces, his conscious was cut off and he was left sinking into a depth of darkness.

 

* * *

 

Theoretically, it’s possible to connect one’s nerves with another person and with what Noiz had proposed about neuromorphic technology, it’s totally possible to connect the nerves in a speed faster than light and that made it possible for a person to be connected with nerves and light and waves in a timeline as far as ten years before. But intruding another person’s mind was still too huge of a risk and definitely intrusive so instead of heading down that route, Noiz decided that it’s best to tamper with his own mind, or more specifically, a mind of his in the past.

That’s how he ended up in Midorijima ten years before the present timeline, in a room that he thought he’d left behind, the scent of rain and mud having him to scrunch his nose.

He knew this room. He just never thought he’d revisit it a second time. It was one of the earliest places he can afford in Midorijima; dirty, dark, and small. But it didn’t matter to him at that time. He was already glad that he managed to escape and land himself in a totally foreign land without losing an arm and he was bound to achieve things that he’d never be able to when he was surrounded by artificial luxury and courteous concerns. Everything that he wasn’t used to was here but he felt contented and that’s all that mattered.

He got off the bed, strolling straight to an old wardrobe in the corner of the room and pulled it open to reveal a side-mirror hanging onto the back of the door.

Honestly, he wasn’t one to groom himself a lot, and definitely wasn’t one to pay too much attention to his own appearance, but even a blind man could’ve told him how much had he changed throughout the decade. His face back then was young -- _really_ young -- and it lacked so many emotions, making him looked totally like a man who would punch you in the face if you did as much as patting him on the shoulder. And his hair… his hair was all over the place.

He was really in a mess.

But he looked young; he repeated it again. Perfectly like the inexperienced brat who took considerations too lightly and thinking that rushing into risks was the right thing to do. And wow, those piercings, he’d forgotten how much he missed those metals on his face. He was reckless, that’s part of him, he won’t deny it. But even so, he was still pretty instinctual, which explained why he survived the ruthless dark street of Midorijima despite being a kid who didn’t belong here in the first place.

After he’d gotten his face checked, he searched through his wardrobe. If he was to carry out a mission that would interfere with history, he might as well keep himself low-profile and unrecognizable throughout the journey. He’s already risking it when he put himself in this situation (he’s still shocked how he _really_ managed to turn up here), and now that he’s officially in the game, he needed to act and think like an adult, not the brat he was supposed to be.

He found a plain-white T-shirt, a pair of old jeans, and a sneaker. Perfect. Now, he probably just needed to get himself a jacket and he’ll be all set. Fumbling around the house told him that he wasn’t one to afford a box of rice, left alone a jacket. He’d have to live with this then. And he really needed to leave a note to this past-self of his before he ended up starving to death.

Taking a final look of himself in the mirror, Noiz took a deep breath with closed eyes, then walked out of the room.

To the streets of Midorjima, ten years before.

 

Walking on the streets of Midorijima gave him a vivid reminder of how big an impact ten years could have on an island. Midorijima now looked like an underdeveloped island, what’s with its torn-down buildings and broken roads that were left unattended to. If Toue hadn’t been barging in, this island might be left to corrode and collapse on its own. Well, that’s one thing Toue can take credit for, he supposed. With hands tucked in his pockets, he looked around the pavements, avoiding eye contact with passers-by just in case someone recognized him (unlikely, since he probably just settled down here but one cannot be too careful), and followed a familiar route to the center of the island, then taking the south exit.

He wasn’t sure what to expect from turning up unexpectedly at someone’s place when the person wouldn’t have any clue of who he was. Besides, the person he wanted to meet wasn’t much of a friendly soul like who he was now. It probably wouldn’t be a surprise if he was dismissed upon contact. But there’s a chance that he’d achieve more than what he expected. Even if he was only going to see him -- just a glimpse or something -- or just… exchange a sentence, that’s fine too.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of a house he was now more than familiar with. It’s strange, really, how everything else on this island had undergone critical changes but this house remained to be what it was throughout the decade. There were no noticeable differences on the walls, the roof, and even the gate looked exactly the same. Now that he thought about it, when was the last time he’d returned here anyway? Two months ago? Or was it four? He couldn’t quite remember. Maybe longer. How long had he been cooped up in his workshop anyway? Since when did he start losing a sense of time?

He spent a good fifteen minutes just staring at the house and another five minutes deciding that it’s not a wise idea to just knock on the door when he still had no clue of how he could explain the situation to the man he intended to meet.

So, he turned his back towards the house and started walking back the route he took to come here.

...until he saw a man walking towards his direction; a man that he was more familiar with than he did the house.

The man had his jacket hood up, hands in his jeans pockets, and was walking down the street with an expression that could compete with the default face Noiz always wore. He didn’t seem to take concern of how a stranger was standing in front of his house, totally minding his own business and not even batting an eye at Noiz’s direction. When they brushed shoulders, Noiz fingers fidgeted out of impulse. He swallowed down his throat, breath trapped in his lungs. His time came to a stop, surrounding muted and all that he could hear were his own heartbeats in his ears. He only regained his senses when he heard the sound of lock opening as he turned around to see the man walking into the same house he’d been staring at in the last minutes.

Speaking about being unprepared… Just that _one_ encounter had him losing his feet. He really needed to step up his game.

 

Wow, okay, wow. That was...

He found himself in the darkness in his room, found a bottle of water -- the last one -- in the mini fridge, and started drowning water down his system. Ever since that abrupt encounter, he’d been wandering around the streets again, totally unaware of where he was and kept bumping into people to whom he didn’t bother to apologize. But that was, yeah, that was pretty exceptional.

He’d just met _Aoba_ , way before he’d _actually_ met him for real and seriously, he’s so… he’s so different but so exceptionally attractive all at the same time.

He drowned more water down his throat.

This is bad. He’s going to make fun of himself at this rate. There’s no way he could remain coherent if he wasn’t able to reorganize the impression in his head now.

Okay, look. This Aoba was Aoba from _ten years ago_. He doesn’t recognize Noiz; Noiz is nothing but another stranger to him and there’s no way they’d be able to click and interact as easily as he did now with the present Aoba. This Aoba was also… a delinquent. Sort of. He was reckless and he was young and he was… well, he was everything Noiz was.

He’d need a whole new strategy to interact with him.

_Isn’t this enough, though?_ A small voice whispered in his head. _Isn’t this what you’re here for? To see him. And that’s it._

“No,” he muttered under his breath as he folded his hands behind his head, staring at the dark ceiling. This is not all that he wanted. Meeting Aoba was definitely part of it but he wanted more. He wanted to _know_ about Aoba, he wanted to retrieve that missing piece of memory that had been haunting Aoba since forever. He wanted to know what kind of man Seragaki Aoba was when he was eighteen.

And that’s what he was going to do.

 

* * *

 

He found Aoba in an alley he was used to hanging out at when he was as rebellious as this Aoba was. It seemed to be every rebel’s favorite place to hang out; perhaps it was the dark nature of it, easy to hide the face, easy to tell others that they didn’t want interaction. Oh boy, Aoba’s not going to like this.

Aoba was an easy spot. It didn’t’ seem like he was intentionally hiding either, just lounging around, wasting time. Clenching his fist, Noiz walked towards Aoba, who was sitting with crossed legs with a beer can in one hand. He could clearly tell Noiz’s presence when he approached but choose not to dwell with him; the perfect reaction Noiz would expect from him. Without saying anything, Noiz sat by his side.

“What’s your deal?” Aoba spoke. It caught Noiz by surprise. He faltered ever so slightly, caught between shock and curiosity. Aoba sounded deeper, stricter, and obviously annoyed.

“Just wondering what can two bored men do,” Noiz said the first excuse that came to his mind. It’s weak, he knew that, but there’s nothing else he had to offer now.

“Hmm,” Aoba hummed. He drained the beer down his throat. “So bored that you stalk me from my home?”

Noiz’s eyes brightened. Does Aoba recognize him from yesterday? That’s a surprise; he definitely didn’t seem like it.

While he hesitated, Aoba had crushed the can in his hand and threw it at the opposite wall. The can bounced off the wall and rolled to Noiz’s leg.

“What’s _really_ up with you, brat?” Aoba asked, finally turning around to look at Noiz. Forget about trying to get himself out of this situation. Noiz became totally perplexed with Aoba’s expression the moment he saw it up-close; his eyes were beautiful -- _golden_ \-- and there’s a small smirk on the corner of his lips that Noiz didn’t get a lot of chance to see. He was positive that this was undeniably, _still_ Aoba but he was different. He was… rebellious, free, and, despite how Aoba’s been hiding, he was also obviously troubled. Noiz couldn’t figure out how he knew all of these just from a look of his partner’s past. Perhaps it was because they were similar, what with their similar personality and similar history; everything about Aoba just sort of resonated with a past Noiz had buried within himself.

Honestly, he couldn’t bear the thought of Aoba having to go through this all by himself. From what he knew, the Aoba now had no one with him; he’d just left Rhyme, he had no parents, no friends, and all he did was wasting time in an alley like this, trying to figure out what to do with his life.

Wasn’t this Noiz back then? If Aoba could be his push, then can’t Noiz be _Aoba_ ’s push too? He didn’t know if this would affect history and if whatever he was to do in these two days would throw him into a time loop or paradox but his ego stung and he knew there’s no way he’d leave Aoba alone when he clearly needed someone now.

“I want to know more about you,” Noiz confessed. There’s no point trying to play games with Aoba anymore. Aoba’s smarter than he thought and despite his frequent retort about his intelligence when Noiz brought the matter up, Noiz knew that he was just rooted in a state of denial.

“Hmm?” Aoba hummed again. His eyes never left Noiz, staring deep into Noiz’s own lime-green orbs, as if trying to read him from the inside. “Why? Because I was Slyblue?”

“I wouldn’t deny that to be part of the reason,” Noiz admitted. “But that’s not all to it.”

“Really?” The grin on Aoba’s face pulled wider and God, that’s one of the most beautiful expressions Noiz had seen on him. “What are the other reasons then?”

He seemed genuinely curious and it leaped the faith in Noiz to keep trying. This is going somewhere, for sure. How far, he had no idea yet. But they’re going somewhere and he just needed to keep up with this composure.

“I know you more than you do,” Noiz said, deadpanned.

“Really? Aoba repeated, now sounding like he was ridiculing Noiz. “But I’ll trust you on that, brat. I don’t really know myself, after all.”

Well, that was surprisingly easy.

“I’m not here to challenge you,” Noiz emphasized, just in case Aoba was getting the wrong idea.

“I wouldn’t accept even if you do.”

“Good.”

“So what do you want to do?” Aoba quickly got into business as if he was rushing for time. Ironic, seeing how _Noiz_ was the one rushing for time here.

“Simple. Just spend one day with me. That’s all.”

Aoba quirked a suspicious eyebrow. Surely one day wouldn’t cost him too much, would it?

“One day, huh?” Aoba looked away, eyes drifted to the wall right in front of him as he considered. “No harm, I guess.”

Okay, that was… surprisingly easy. But it stung Noiz knowing that Aoba was totally out there, having nothing to aim for, and just living the days like he was just a walking zombie. It hurt Noiz to know that Aoba, like him in the past, probably wouldn’t care if he was to be kidnapped or die on the roadside all of a sudden and he’d even be thankful for that.

Noiz was going to change that. Even if he couldn’t, at the very least, he wanted Aoba to know that it’ll be worth it to hold on for a bit longer -- until when they finally met.

 

“So, you say you know things about me.”

They found themselves in a bar -- one that Noiz recognized immediately of being Black Needle -- in a dark corner where no one could make out a supposedly underage man.

“Don’t complain, this is the only place I can get free drinks,” Aoba grumbled, noticing Noiz’s eyes panning through the floor.

“Not complaining,” Noiz denied. “Just nostalgic.”

“Is that so?” Aoba eyed him suspiciously. “So what are you, really? You’re not from here, are you? A tourist? There’s nothing to see in Midorijima.”

Aoba didn’t seem like he cared much about his home island; perfectly reasonable, given that he didn’t feel very belonged here in the first place.

“You can say that,” Noiz agreed. He stirred a glass of what seemed to be lime juice but kept it untouched. Not sure if his empty stomach can handle the acidity now. “But I’m mainly here for you.”

“Why me?” Aoba asked, totally unfiltered. “Because of Slyblue?”

“Told you that’s nothing to do with that,” Noiz grumbled.

“Is that so? Well then, I can’t think of any reason to why anyone wants to approach me if not because they want to kick me off the ranking.”

“There are plenty of reasons to why someone wants to meet you,” Noiz said off-the-cuff.

“Give me one then,” Aoba demanded, sipping contentedly at his beer bottle.

Noiz was just about to spill everything he adored about Aoba but he pulled himself back just at the last second. Whatever he’d known about Aoba wasn’t who the Aoba was now. They’d sound too much like lies for this Aoba to even take them seriously. It occurred to him that he really knew nothing about this Aoba after all.

“I’m waiting,” Aoba pressed.

“...Anyway, you’re worth it more than you think you are,” Noiz finally spoke. “Give yourself time.”

“I am,” Aoba responded curtly. “Why do you think I’m here with you? I have too much time to spare now it’s ridiculous.”

And it hurt to see.

“I am kind of… a prophet,” Noiz said out of mere desperation. He just got a feeling that if he didn’t prove himself worthy now he’d lose Aoba anytime.

“Are you kidding me?” Aoba gaped.

“I hope I am. I saw great things in you.”

This is stupid. He regretted everything.

“Hmm, interesting.”

Surprisingly, Aoba’s expression returned to one of impassive, the hint of shock from before gone.

“So you’re telling me you saw my future. Am I dead? Tomorrow? Next week?”

“It’s precisely that you _aren’t_ that I’m here,” Noiz dropped his voice, trying to ignore the mild twinge of pain in the bottom of his heart.

“Tell me then, prophet, what does my future have in store for me? Besides wasting my life doing nothing, disappointing people, causing damages, unwanted.”

“You might not believe it now but you’re _greater_ than you expect yourself to be. You’ll save people, change their life, make an impact.”

“Wow, I’m a saint now, am I?” Aoba laughed out loud. He didn’t seem like he’s taking Noiz seriously. Probably thinking that he’s just another bored idiot with nothing better to do.

“It’s all true, regardless if you believe it or not,” Noiz hushed.

“How can I trust you? I need better convincing than a brat telling me he can see my future, you know? Just being realistic.”

He does have a point. But Noiz had no patience. He’s not here to break the rules and spoil the future and he’s at his limit and was starting to wonder if he's going about things the wrong way.

“Because you saved _me_.”

The words slipped before he could stop them.

But that seemed to have caught Aoba’s attention. He turned around and pushed his beer bottle aside to see Noiz clearly in the face.

“I saved you?” he repeated Noiz’s words.

“Yes, you did,” Noiz said, firmed. It’s too late to take his words back now, might as well make use of them. “You changed my life.”

For a stretched moment, Aoba had his eyes fixed on Noiz, as if suspecting him all over again. Any time now, he’s going to kick Noiz out of the place and call him insane and that’d be it.

Well, it’s nice while it lasted. At least Noiz got to not only meet but interact with Aoba in his rebellious year.

But instead, Aoba looked away after what seemed like an eternity and stood.

“Okay then, prophet. Do you have anything else to do besides harassing me?”

“I don’t,” Noiz said out of instinct, still couldn’t quite grasp what Aoba intended to do.

“Let’s go for a walk then.”

With that said, Aoba left the table, heading towards the bar as Noiz followed him from the back, still confused.

 

He thought Aoba wanted something from him because he’s probably the last person who would want to be connected with someone else with no purpose in mind. But ever since they left the Black Needle, Aoba said no word to him, leaving Noiz to follow him and sharing his silence. He didn’t seem like he had anywhere else to go too; they’d been walking the same path three times for the past half an hour before Noiz finally spoke,

“Do you have something you want from me?” he asked.

“Seems like you’re the one who wants something from me.”

Well, he’s not wrong. But if Aoba wanted him to follow him, then it’s naturally for Noiz to think that he had something in his mind.

And then, as they turned a corner, Aoba finally stopped walking. A bright light emitted from a distance, not far from where they were standing, the blinding rays pierced through the orange evening sky as cheers echoed and echoed in the once-quiet alley.

“Rhyme,” Noiz heard Aoba mutter. Aoba didn’t seem like he had any intention to approach the scene. Or rather, he seemed like he was hesitating. Seeing a chance, Noiz grabbed him on the wrist and dragged both of them towards the Rhyme spot.

“Hey!”

Aoba struggled but to no avail and Noiz only let him go when they had a clear view of the Rhyme field -- a blue one, where two players, one with a dog AllMate another a bird, faced each other.

“I used to play Rhyme too,” Noiz said, ignoring Aoba’s frown.

“Really?” Great, it distracted him.

Noiz nodded. “I was obsessed with it. It was my life.”

Aoba said nothing, merely staring at the Rhyme match.

“You too, don’t you? You were Slyblue,” Noiz directed a question at Aoba.

“Everyone knows that.”

“And you quit Rhyme. Why?” It was a genuine question. Noiz only knew the surface of things, like how Slyblue’s match had resulted in casualties, how he then retired from the scene and how he no longer accepted any match requests yet still sitting tall and strong on the top of the rank as Midorijima’s strongest Rhyme player ever existed.

“It’s unreal,” Aoba spoke. The bird AllMate had hit the dog in a weak spot as the dog moaned and rolled on the ground. “Everything about Rhyme, they’re not real. You play in your own head, in a place that does not exist. It’s a way to escape reality. And I’m done with it.”

Noiz allowed a momentary silence between them, figuring Aoba needed it.

“But anyway, that’s in the past. But it doesn’t look like my reality is any better anyway. I screwed up my own life,” Aoba said with a bitter chuckle like he’s laughing at himself.

“That’s not true,” Noiz was quick to interrupt. “Didn’t I say I used to play Rhyme too?”

“And you quit,” Aoba started to put the pieces together.

“I did. Because it’s not real.”

Now, he had Aoba’s full attention. Totally ignoring the match, Aoba turned around to look at him, expecting him to continue.

“Rhyme used to be a safe haven for me to escape reality. You see, I can’t feel. Pain, emotions, whatever a normal human should be able to feel, I can’t. That makes me abnormal, like an alien. But Rhyme was different. In Rhyme, I can feel. Even though the pain is artificial, it’s still something and I clung onto it like an addict. Or perhaps I’m really addicted to feeling pain, to Rhyme, to being able to feel intensity and feeling like I’d lose my life any second.”

“But you quit,” Aoba repeated. His statement didn’t sound at all sarcastic but it sounded more like questioning Noiz. He seemed eager to want to know what had made Noiz stop something that he deemed was a comfort zone to him. It’s a chance to make Aoba open up better to him.

“Yes, I did,” Noiz confirmed. “Because of you.”

It’s totally not the answer Aoba expected. Noiz can tell from his expression, how his eyes widened and how his mouth opened just a tad.

“You gave me a reality that’s way better than Rhyme, a reality that’s not artificial, a reality with you in it. That’s why I said -- you saved me.”

He wouldn’t expect Aoba to believe him. They’d met each other in less than a day after all. He’s still a complete stranger to Aoba and Noiz, of course, wouldn’t say that he had the confidence of knowing who Aoba truly was from all the interactions they’d shared so far.

Aoba seemed conflicted. He seemed like he wanted to say something but he stopped himself before he could. He averted Noiz’s gaze as if he did something wrong, and Noiz caught him shivering a bit, as if he was suppressing something.

“You okay?” Noiz asked, wondering if he’d pushed himself too far this time.

“...Yeah,” Aoba said. He shook his head a little, gave the Rhyme match -- it’s pretty much done now, the bird soared high into the sky for a winning cheer -- then back at Noiz again.

“Where’s your home?” was Aoba’s next question and, if Noiz’s eyes weren’t playing tricks at him, the intensity of golden in Aoba’s eyes seemed less sharp than when he first met him. He couldn’t figure out if that’s a good thing or if he’d broken some kind of rule that would take all the chances for him to go home away.

 

He made a mental note to appreciate his present house better when he stepped into the small space of his old house with Aoba on his heels. But Aoba didn’t comment about anything at all. All he did was looking around the space and then he was back at staring at Noiz again.

“Pretty torn down for a traveler,” Aoba teased. “Will you still be poor in the future?”

This will never go away for a long time, isn’t it?

“No, I’m going to be a billionaire,” Noiz said. It’s not a lie.

Aoba whistled. “Great for you. Hope you don’t mind helping a poor friend out, that’s if you still remember me by then.”

“Don’t worry, that’ll definitely happen too. Wait.” It took a while, but he thought he heard a word. “We’re friends now?”

“We aren’t?” Aoba pulled a smirk.

Okay, friends. That sounded nice. Especially when Noiz was certain that he and Aoba had totally skipped the ‘friend’ part from when they met up to when they ended up moving to Germany together.

“I’ll take that,” Noiz said with a shrug. Aoba chuckled and it might as well be the most genuine laugh Noiz had heard from him for the whole day now. He inched towards Noiz when Noiz was sitting on the bed, attempting to make the sheet more bearable to house another person.

“Or do you want to be more than friends?”

A chill ran down his spine when he looked up and noticed Aoba had pulled his face so close to him their noses were almost touching. He was positive that he’d push him away if he hadn’t been so dreadfully in love with Aoba, no matter from which year he was from.

“Don’t worry,” Noiz’s voice dropped into a whisper. Before he could stop himself, he’d clutched Aoba on his wrist and lugged him over, causing Aoba to fall onto his lap. “That will happen too.”

As knowledgeable as he was with human biology, nerves, senses, and everything that was part of a human’s body, he couldn’t explain how he’d become so very unpredictably reckless when it came to Aoba. It’s as if all the nerves in his body had decided to go on a rampage, disobeying his rational mind and wanted nothing but to savor Aoba whenever he was within proximity.

This wasn’t his Aoba, but he was still his Aoba. Confusing, yes. Maybe this was Aoba, but not his Aoba _yet_.

But who said he couldn’t claim Aoba as his now? Even when they’d be meeting each other only five years later. Even if they’d be real, complete strangers when that happened.

Still.

_Still_.

He wanted Aoba. That’s the only thing he could ever think of.

He could instantly feel the nostalgia on his lips when he kissed Aoba. Aoba didn’t push him away; in fact, he welcomed him with open arms, his hands clinging onto Noiz’s neck, encouraging Noiz to deepen the kiss. It didn’t feel foreign. Aoba’s lips felt just like the same, like how he remembered them to be. His tongue was as warm as ever and when Noiz sucked on the tip, he could feel Aoba’s hips shivered a tad, exactly like how he expected him to.

This was dangerous. He didn’t know if this would change anything, or if having sex with Aoba now would destroy anything between the Aoba who was waiting for him in the present timeline. Aoba obviously noticed it. He pulled their kiss apart after biting teasingly on Noiz’s lower lip, then flickered a suspicious gaze at his direction.

“What’s your name, by the way?” he asked.

Noiz was momentarily taken aback. He couldn’t be telling Aoba what his name was or else risked putting himself in danger when they actually met later. He shook his head instead, hugging Aoba close. Ah, yes, this was it. The way Aoba’s heart beat against his own chest was comforting; he loved it.

“Wim,” he said breathlessly. He could hear Aoba repeating his name under his breath as if he was trying to memorize it, which made Noiz feel bad. In the next instant, Aoba’s fingers were on the back of his hair, combing the disheveled strands before he patted him on the head. Just like what his Aoba would always do when he showed signs of insecurity.

“I must’ve meant a lot to you,” Aoba said in a small whisper, words Noiz wouldn’t expect to hear from him.

“You told me I’m capable of doing something good, that I’d be able to help people. You said you’re the living proof of the people I’ve helped,” Aoba paused to let out a laugh that sounded like nothing but pain. “I’m probably stupid for trusting a stranger I know for barely a day but maybe that’s what I need to hear. That’s what I really need now.”

Every one of his words weighed upon Noiz’s heart. He never knew this part of Aoba, of how he was struggling to find hope and to find a _reason_ so that he could justify himself enough to continue living. He would never be able to understand how Aoba felt to be left alone and to be betrayed over and over again until hope was no longer part of his option. He would never understand how hard it was for Aoba to stand up again, and then becoming the Aoba he was familiar with in the present. Aoba was strong, he never once doubted it. But having to see Aoba in his worst, depressed state still made him feel terrible. He regretted never being able to be by Aoba’s side when he needed someone the most.

But that will change now. That’s why he’s here in the first place.

“You’ll be fine,” he cupped Aoba’s face, kissing him on the forehead.

Aoba merely smiled. He didn’t look as intimidating as when they brushed shoulders in front of the Seragaki household anymore. His eyes held of tenderness and plead that were emotions closer to how Aoba would turn out to be in the future.

“I’m good for nothing. I don’t have any extraordinary skills, I’m not smart. There’s no place for me here.”

“You do. Find a job. Any job. Try things out. Let go of who you are,” Noiz persisted. “I promise you. Things will get better. I’ve seen it. Everything _will_ be better.”

If Aoba still held any hint of distrust towards Noiz, whatever Noiz told him had now cut it off completely. He looked at Noiz the way the present Aoba would look at him and he smiled at Noiz the way the present Aoba would at him.

“Give me a hint, maybe?” he asked between small chortles.

Noiz pulled out the first thing that came to his mind.

“Your voice. You have a nice voice. It’ll save people. It saved me, and it’ll save me again. So--”

Aoba didn’t let Noiz finish what he wanted to say. He took his final words away by kissing him hard, sucking the air out of him, the intensity so overpowering Noiz grasped onto his shoulders and shoved him to lie down on the bed. When it came to Aoba, his body was practically in instinct mode. It seemed to know what it wanted to do better than Noiz’s brain can comprehend. Even without its muscle memories, Noiz still knew how to wrap his hand around Aoba’s neck when their tongues tangled. He knew how to keep Aoba in place with one free hand holding onto Aoba’s waist, then feeling the familiar arch of his hips that had their hardening dicks colliding with each other. Their makeout was rough and raw and it all felt like they were trying to taste each other as hard and as much as their bodies could afford.

Their eye contact was ephemeral when they pulled their lips apart, yet never losing the tint of animalistic, telling each other loud and clear enough of how much their bodies desired each other. So they continued. Noiz helped Aoba out of his clothing while he did the same himself. His palm landed on Aoba’s body lines, touching his muscles and feeling Aoba squirm under his touch. It was intensely gratifying to know that he was making Aoba feel this much, not helping when this Aoba was way more expressive than he’d ever seen. He moaned when he was aroused, he urged Noiz on when he was touching his right ribs, and he scratched into Noiz’s skin when Noiz did as much as rubbing their dicks together and preparing him for what he was going to do to him next.

“Hey…” Aoba called out in between heavy panting. Noiz already had three fingers in him by the time he looked up at Aoba. He swallowed down his throat. Aoba had one hand on his dick and another tracing semen -- from when he came the first time -- along his chest. It was a huge, _huge_ challenge for Noiz to contain himself not to stick his dick into Aoba right there and then.

“You’ve got some skills.” He vaguely heard Aoba say. His head was on fire and that seemed to be taking a toll on his senses. All that he ever wanted now was to feel Aoba from the inside and let himself be lost in the pleasure that he had long yearned for. Aoba was not helping; not the slightest.

It’s as if he’d read Noiz’s mind because in the next second, he’d spread his legs apart, holding onto his thighs and throwing a dark smirk at Noiz’s direction. He must’ve noticed how Noiz’s throat bobbed up and down when he did just that.

“C’mon, take me.”

He didn’t need to be told twice. Pushing his dick in took a bit of effort but once the tip of his head sunk into Aoba -- which had Aoba pulling out a long moan -- he thrust it right in, hitting Aoba deep in the hilt.

Aoba’s strangled moan had Noiz’s dick twitching but he had no intention of giving them any break. He pulled until he’s all the way out and pushed in again, every thrust quicker and harder than the last. Their sex was raw, there were no skills as if they were simply ravaging each other’s body to fulfill their own desires. There were pain and spasms but all of those only gave them more pleasure as they kept pushing and pushing and pushing each other to the height of their arousal.

Noiz could tell when Aoba was about to come a second time; his hands clutched firmly on the sheet like his life depended on it, his eyes shut tight, drool fell from his lips and to his earlobe, and his voice hoarse from all the screaming as his insides tightened around Noiz’s dick. He was _very close_ and it did nothing but intensifying Noiz’s thrusts even more. He needed to see this; the _moment_ when Aoba came, when he lost himself in pleasure and feeling of nothing but overpowering lust. He grasped onto Aoba’s dick, rubbing hard and fast on it, urging him on, and soon enough, semen spurted out of the tip as Aoba came hard, orgasm overriding his senses as broken voice escaped his throat. The very sight had Noiz losing himself too, coming in the deepest depth of Aoba before he slumped on the other, both breathing heavily from the intense tremor.

In the wake of their afterglow, they found themselves clinging onto each other, bodies pressed together, none of them wanting to move an inch. They’re dog-tired, and were struggling to stay conscious. Noiz really needed this. He couldn’t quite remember when was the last time he had sex but the escapade truly released him from a fatigue he’d been suppressing within him for long.

He lifted a powerless hand to play with Aoba’s long strands of hair, twirling them around his fingers with a small smile. Aoba was quiet but he knew that he was as awake as he was. He could feel his slow breathing on his shoulder, the rise and fall of his chest calm and peaceful against his own.

“You won’t be alone,” Noiz whispered into the darkness. He’s probably losing Aoba soon. He can already hear how labored Aoba’s breathing became with every passing minute. “I won’t let you be alone. Hang in there. Just hang in there… for a bit more.”

_Until we meet_ , was what he wanted to say, but he decided to keep that to himself.

Aoba had fallen asleep by the time Noiz raised his body away from Aoba’s. He looked so innocent when he slept like this, completely undisturbed and completely in his own world. Looking at him tenderly, Noiz swept a finger along his cheekbone. A faint voice resounded in the back of his head; he knew the voice. And he didn’t need to think twice to know that what was happening.

It’s time.

He leaned down to kiss Aoba on the cheek for one last time, smiling fondly.

“See you in the future, Aoba.”

And then, his senses faded. White light engulfed him like how it did when he tricked time. He closed his eyes. He’s going home now. And he can’t wait to tell Aoba everything that had happened here.

 

* * *

 

 

His five senses were taking their own sweet time to come back to him. But when he _finally_ felt something, it was a soft touch on his face and warmth on his hand. He tried as hard as he could to open his eyes but to no avail. Then, gradually, his hearing returned to him. He could hear his own name, recited by a familiar voice. And then, finally, he opened his eyes, bright light immediately having him to close them again. A yelp, then something else on his forehead -- a warm, soft sensation.

“I was so worried!”

As soon as he was certain that he was back to normal -- no brain damage, no missing sensations -- he sat up, then finding Aoba immediately pulling him into a tight-fitting hug that knocked all the air out of his lungs.

“I was screaming myself hoarse into that whatever mic,” Aoba explained, breathless.

He smiled at the thought.

“I heard you.”

Aoba continued on about how he’d been handling things in his house and updated Noiz about everything that had happened since his departure but none of those went into Noiz’s ears. He was too busy gazing at Aoba, taking in the features on his face, how his expressions were softer now, how he used his body gestures to better illustrate what he wanted to explain to Noiz, and how his voice was an octave higher than before. He was back, alright. Nothing seemed to be of any difference. It’s good news then, because it meant he hadn’t been destroying anything unintentionally when he was stuck in a decade ago. Everything was now back to normal.

“And also.”

Aoba purposefully took a long pause. For a moment, Noiz thought he’d figured out that Noiz wasn’t listening to him but there’s no malicious intention in Aoba’s eyes when he looked at Noiz and he thought perhaps he’s about to ask him about what he’d experienced in the two-day dream.

“It took you awhile, but you did fulfill your promise after all,” Aoba smiled.

“Promise? Oh, yeah, I told you I’d come back. Nothing should go wrong.”

Aoba shook his head. “That’s a given. I won’t let you do this if I’m not confident that you’ll come back eventually.”

Noiz eyed Aoba questioningly. Did he miss a point Aoba was saying just now because he had no idea what Aoba was referring to at all.

Aoba seemed to have noticed. He came close to Noiz, wrapping his hands around Noiz’s face and then sliding his hands to cup around Noiz’s neck before he kissed Noiz on the lips.

“I kept myself going for five years after that. Quite tough, but I’m glad I did.”

It took Noiz a while but when he finally understood what Aoba was implying, every other sound around them muted in his ears. All he could hear now was Aoba’s voice.

“You remember…? SInce when?”

“Since when you told me your name.”

 


End file.
